Ventilator.



G. H. BIGALKY.

I VENTILATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 24, 1910.

Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.0. H. BIGALKY.

VENTILATOR.

APPLICATION FILED HAL, 1910.

. Y Patented Sept. 29, 1914,

c. H. BIOALKY.

VENTILATOR.

7 APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1910. 1, 1 1 1 Patented Sept. 29, 1914.

4 BHEETS-SHEET 3.

y Mi A W 7 W 5 W 293801 11491 G. H. BIGALKY.

' VENTILATOB- APPLIOATIQN nun) MAR. 24, 1910.

Patented Sept 29, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 ring J:

7 l ii zzessasw CHARLES nmrcnrxr, or BUFFALQNEW ronx.

vEN'rmA-Ton.

Specification of. Letters Iatent. Patented Sept; 29, 1914;

, Application filed March 24, 1910. Serial No. 551,258.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. Bi'cALnr, a citizen of the United States,'residing at Buli'alo, in the-county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new andalseful Improvements in Ventilators, of .which' the following is a specification.

This invention relates toa ventilator which is adapted to be mountedat the upper end of a flue connected with the room or building to be ventilated and whereby the air may either be drawn out of the building to the exterior thereof or the external air may be forced into the building. Heretofore, the fans of ventilators which have been usedfor this purpose have usually been driven by a separate motor operated-either by electricity, gas, air or wa-. Such an installation is, however, very the side of the flue, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

- The hood is supported at its top on' the -upper end of the spindle against downward movement by a bearing which is' pref-. .erably of the-ball type and preferably'comprises a plug E secured in the upper end of the spindle, a lower ball race c securedto ter. expensive and often impractical particularly when the ventilator is arranged above the roof of a building which is not convenient of access for inspection, cleaning and repairs.

It is the object of this'i'nvention to provide a ventilator of simple and effective construction, whereby the pressure of the wind may be utilized for forcing the air either out of or into the room or building with which the ventilator is associated, thereby avoiding the expense of maintaining a separate motor for this purpose which has often rendered the ventilation of some buildings by means of this character impracticable. I

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 4 sheets; Figure 1 is a front elevationof one form of ventilator embodying-my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in line 4l, Fig. '3. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section showing a modification of my improved ventilator.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

This ventilator comprises an upright flue or tubular base A which may be supported in any suitable manner and connected at its lower end with the room or interior of the building which is to be ventilated.

Above the flue is arranged a horizontally upper end of the flue. The'upper' part B of tne hood is constructed in the form of a horizontal hollow cone the interior of which communicates with the neck and has a cir-.

cular air passage 0, at its large end which is arranged on one side of the hood while its opposite small or pointed end is closed and arranged on the opposite side of the hood.

Various means may be provided for supporting the hood on the flue for horizontal rotation. The means for thispurposc shown in the drawings are preferred and comprise an upright spindle D, preferably of tubular form, arranged centrally within the hood and flue and rigidly supported at its lower end by means of upper and lower spiders each of which preferably consists of a hub d secur'ed to the spindle and tubular" radial arms d connecting the hub with the plug, an. annular row of balls a air-- ranged on the lower ball race, a bracket F depending from the top of the hood, and an upper ball racef secured to the lower end of the bracket and resting upon the upper side of the balls 6 This upper ball bearing is supplied with a lubricant for causing the same to fun easy by means-of an-oil cup 9 arranged on top of the hood and leading to the bearing. Any oil which may drip or escape from the upper hood against lateral displacement on the spindleby means of a lower side bearing which is constructed as follows: H representsan inner ball race secured to the lower part of the spindle, h, an annular row of balls engaging with the outer side of the inner ball race, 2', an outer ball race engaging with the outer side of the balls, I, a hub secured to the adjacent part of the spindle and supporting the outer ball race and a plurality of radial arms J preferably of tubular form, connecting the hub I with the lower part of the neck of the hood. The hood is prevented from being lifted off the spindle by means of a stop collar which is detachably secured to the spindle immediately above the hub I.

The arms J terminate at their inner ends above the balls of the lower bearing and the outer end of one of these arms is provided externally of the hood with an oil cup j, so that this arm serves as a lubricator conduit, whereby a lubricant may be conducted from the oil cup 7' to the lower ball bearing when the latter requires lubrication.

Adjacent to the air passage 0 of the hood is arranged a fan wheel which is constructed to utilize the pressure ofthc wind for causing either the external air to be forced downwardly through the hood and fine into the building or the air in the building. to be drawn upwardly through the flue and hood. This fan wheel is rotatable in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis which is concentric or axially in line'with the conical cap of the hood and comprises a longitudinal hub in, a ring or annular frame Z surrounding the hub, an annular set of inner driven fan blades L which are arranged at an angle to the axis of the fan and areconncctcd at their inner ends with the hub A while their outer ends are connected with the inner side of the ring Z and an annular set of outer driving fan blades M which preferably trend in the same direction as the inner set of blades.

The fan ring is of substantially the same diameter as the air passage 0 at the side of thchood, so that the inner fan blades cover practically the entire area of this passage while the outer fan blades project laterally beyond the outer side or periphery of the hood and are exposed to the blast or pressure of the wind which passes horizontally along the outer side of the hood.

N represents a vane, whereby the hood and fan wheel are turned horizontally by the pressure of the wind so as to keep the wheel in line with the direction in which the wind blows. When this vane is so mounted that it projects laterally from the large end of the hood, as shown by full lines in Fig. 3, the small end of the conical part or closed end of the hood is presented to the pressure of the wind, whereby the wind acting upon the outer fan blades causes the fan wheel to be turned in a direction in which the inner blades thereof produce an exhausting effect upon the interior of the hood and flue and thereby cause the air in the building with which the fine isconnected to be discharged into the external atmosphere. Upon reversing the. vane so that the same projects laterally from the hood at the smallor closed end thereof, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the hood will then be turned by the pressure of the wind, so that the fan wheel will be presented to the blast of the wind. In

the last-mentioned position of the vane, the air passing the outer side of the hood will impinge against the outer or driving blades of the fan wheel and turn the same, while the air which enters within the wheel ring is acted upon by the inner fan blades and forced by the same downwardly through the 100d and flue and into the room or building to be Ventilated. By employing the ring Z in the fan wheel and projecting the same into the air passage 2 an annular space is formed between this ring and the hood through which the air is drawn from the interior of the hood by a syphonic action which is produced by the movement of the driving blades and the wind which operates the blades, thereby obtaining a double pulling effect on the internal air by the outside wind pressure in addition to the pull on the internal air by the driven blades L whereby the efficiency of the ventilator is increased accordingly.

The hub of the fan wheel may be mounted in any suitable way, the means for this purpose shown in the drawings, comprising a horizontal spindle or arbor m which is arranged lengthwise of the center of the hood and upon which the hub of the fan wheel turns, an inner bridge or spider 0 arranged within the side passage of the hood and hav ing the center of its arms connected with the inner ends of the spindle while the outer ends of said arms are connected with the a djacent part of the hood, and an outer spider or bridge 0 having the center of its arms connected with the outer end of the spindle while the outer end of its arms are support ed in a manner to be presently described. At its outer end the hub of the fan wheel is provided with a disk P to which the adja cent edges of the inner fan blades are so.- cured.

The ring Z is preferably conical and arranged with its small end within the bore of the side passage 0 of the hood while its outer and large end projects laterally beyond the periphery of the adjacent part of the cap of the hood. By this construction the wind approaching the hood on the side of its pointed end and striking the outer side of the fan ring is caused to spread and thereby operate more effectively against the driving fan blades which are arranged on this side of the ring this being due to the fact that the purchase or leverage of the air against the fan blades M increases in the same measure as the air strikes these blades farther from the, center of the arbor m. This conical form of the fan ring also causes the; air which rises through the fine and hood to be acted upon by the driven fan blades, so that the speed of this air gradually increases from the time the air enters this wheel at the small end of the conical ring until the air leaves the same at the large end of the comcal ring. This is due to the factthat the area within the fan wheel gradually increases from the small end of the ring to the large end thereof, thereby causing a corresponding increase in the speed of the air as it passes from the shorter radius of the wheel within the ring to the larger radius thereof and to the further fact that the fan area gradually increases from the small toward the large end of the conical ring so that the air is free to expand and get away with less frictional resistance, thereby increasing the suction eifect of this fan and improving the ventilation accordingly.

At its inner or small end the fan ring is turned outwardly so as to form an external annular gutter g on this part of thesame.

Any rain or water which strikes the outer side of the fan'ring and is directed to the small end thereof is caught by this gutter and carried down to the underside thereof where it drops on the lower part of the air passage of the hood, then flows downwardly along the inner side of the adjacent part of the neck of the hood, and then drops off from the lower edge of the neck outside of the flue, thereby preventing this water from droppin into the flue and reaching the interior of the building through the ventilating system. I

For the purpose of increasing the propelling effect of the wind'upon the driving blades of the fan wheel an air guide, bonnet or casing is provided which directs the wind toward the driving blades and confines the same to these blades while in engagement therewith so as to compel the wind to expand its full propelling effect before clearing these blades. The preferred form of this wind guide is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and +1- and comprises a forwardly flaring tubular front part B which surrounds the hood, and a rearwardly flaring rear part S which surrounds the driving blades of the fan wheel. This wind guide may be supported upon the adjacent part of the hood by means of brackets or arms t, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and l, or by any other suitable means. rear part of the wind guide the same is secured to the outer ends of the arms of the outer spider which carries the outer end of the fan spindle, thereby tying these several parts together and producing a structure hich as a whole is very strong and durable and capable of withstanding the wind pressure to which the same is subjected while in use.

The conical rear part of the wind guide is preferably arranged parallel with the conical ring of the fan wheel, whereby the wind is held uniformly in engagement with the driving blades of the fan wheel from the time the wind strikes these blades at the small end of the fan ring until the wind At the large or outer end of the leaves these fan blades at the large end of the fan ring, thereby causing the full propelling effect of the wind to be obtained as the same passes these blades; This effect is further increased by constructing each of the driving blades, so that the outer edges thereof are arranged at an angle to the axis of rotation and parallel with the rear part of the wind guide, as shown in Fig. 3. 1

By making the front part of the wind guide of forwardly flaring form the space etween the same and the forwardly tapering cap of the hood gradually becomes narrower or of less areafrom the front end of the hood cap and the front part of the wind guide to the rear ends of these parts. By this means the air or wind entering this space at the large end is gradually compressedas' it moves toward the small end thereof, so that upon escaping from this small space and entering the space between the rearwardly flaring part of the wind guide and the fan ring, the wind strikes thev driving blades of the fan expansively and with incrcased'force, thereby increasing the propelling effect of the wind and causing an increased propulsion of the air by the driven blades for ventilating the building.

The vane may be secured .in place so as to turn with the hood and associated parts in any suitable manner, but preferably by securing the same centrally at its lower edge to the top of the rearwardly flaring part of the wind guide, at its front end to the top of the forwardly flaring part of the wind guide, and connecting its rear part by braces 2/. with horizontally opposite sides of the rear part of the wind guide, as shown in Fig.3. I

If desired, the wind guide may be omitted, in which case the arms 0 of the outer supporting spider are carried around the driving blades of the fan'wheel and secured to the adjacent part of the hood, and the vane 11 may either be secured to the top of the hood cap, outer spider arms 0 and braces '12 extending upwardly from these spider arms, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5, when the ventilator is intended to produce an exhausting effect on the-space within the room, or the vane may be secured in a reversed position to the cap of this hood, as shown by dotted lines in the same figure, if'it is desired to utilize the wind pressure for forcing the external air into the room or building to be ventilated.

I claim as my invention:

1. A ventilator-comprising a hood provided with an air passage on one side, and a rotatable fan wheel having a ring projecting into said air passage and provided within the hood with an annular gutter.

2. A ventilator having, in-combination, an air supply pipe, an exhaust pipe projecting thereinto, said pipes being fast together and having their respective outlets adjacent to each other, a fan Within said supply pipe adjacent to the outlet thereof and a fan adjacent to the outlet of said exhaust pipe, said fans being connected together, whereby both of said fans may be rotated.

3. A ventilator having, in combination, an air. supply pipe, an exhaust pipe projecting thereinto, said pipes being fast together and having their respective outlets adjacent to each other, said pipes rotatably mounted .upon a suitable support, a fan within said I -p1pe, said pipes being fast together and having their respective outlets adjacent to each other, a fan located in said supply pipe adjacent to the outlet thereof, and a fan adjacent to the outlet of said exhaust pipe, said fans being connected together, whereby both of said fans may be rotated.

5. A ventilator having, in combination, an air supply pipe, an exhaust pipe extending at an angle to said air supply pipe and fast thereto, the outlet end of said exhaust pipe extending into said airsupply pipe, with its'outward. end extending parallel to said supply pipe, the outlet end of said exhaust pipe being adjacent to the outlet end of said supply pipe, a rotary fan in said sup ply pipe and a rotary fan adjacent to the end of said exhaust pipe, said fans being connected together, whereby both of said fans may be rotated.

6. In combination, a propeller fan and an exhaust fan fastened together and concentric with each other, the blades of said propeller fan being located outside the periphery of the blades ofsaid exhaust fan, a conduit leading to said propeller fan and a conduit leading to said exhaust fan.

\Vitness my hand this 23rd day of March, 1910.

CHARLES H. BICALKY.

Witness es:

THEO. L. Pom, ANNA HEIGIS. 

